Clutch mechanism for power lifts



Aug. 28, 1923.

H. E. ALTGELT CLUTCH MEcHAN-ISM FOR 'POWER LIFTS Filed June 6, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 28, 1923.

` H. E. ALTGELT CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR POWER LIFTS Filed June 6, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 y VPatented ug. 28, 1923.

uni-ren stares titane earner orsi-ce.-

HERMAN n. ALiGiiLT, or sourir nenn, inninive, Assienon 'To 'envian cnIL'LEn rLow wenns, or Vsoumn anni), INDIANA: o

CLUTCH MECI-IANISM OR LIFTS.

Application sied June c,

To alliowm t may, cof/acca Be it'known that I, HERMAN E. ALTGELT, a citizen of the United States, and-a resident of South Bend, in the county of St.` Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ,Clutch Mechanism for Power Lifts; and l do hereby declare the-following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled lin the art to which 'it appfertaiiisl to make and use the same. ,f

This invention relates to 'improvements in clutch mechanism and more particularly to such as is adaptable for use with power lift mechanism for plows and the like-, one .object of the invention being to provide siniple, eiiicient' and durable means for coupling power lift devices with and disconnecting the same from a'partrotatable with one of 'the wheels of the plow. Y

A further object is' to so construct the clutch or coupling mechanism that a member thereof may be automatically' released from the driving member when theV latter is turned backwai'dly, to facilitate disconnection of the Vpower lift devices from the wheel of a plow after one or more plow bases shall have niet an obstruct-ion andafter the lifting mechanism shall have been connectedwith' said wheel. f i.

l/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combination of'parts as hereinafter set lforth and pointed out in Ythe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view illustrating an application of my improvements. 'Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing the positions o'f .the clutch or coupling and lifting devices when the plow is in working position; Figure :3 is a siniilai` View with the lifting disl and lifting arm rcnioved. Figure e is a view showing the positions `of the clutch or coupling .devices 'and lifting devices after the plow sliall 'have been raised. p Figures '5 and 6 are views illustrating the shapel ofthe holes 5:8' in the part 57. VFigure' 7 is a lsectional view ,on the line -S-Y C Y ofllfig.l 4 showing the clutchor coupling d'evices Yand Vthe ina-nner in 'which 'the saine may operatejto-coup'le the lift-ing dislr with-the carrying wheel anduncoupling the saine therefrom, and Figures S and are frag- 1921. Serial No. 475,294. I

proveniente, l have shown in Figure l of the drawings, a plow frame l comprising beams provided'with standard portions Q for at-Y tachment of plow bases 3, and' said lframe is connected, through the medium of crankaXles 4--5 ywithland and furrow'wheels 6 and 7.V

y'A' housing 54: is rigidly vsecured to the crank of the axle t nearY the juncture lof the spindle portion lfarwith said'crank and'is provided with a central hub 55 through which said spindle portion passes; The a-Xle spindle 15a also passes through a wheel boX 56 in the hub of the land wheel `6 and .Said wheel boi; is provided at its inner end Ywith an annular flange 57 having a plurality of holes 58-each of which may beSOlewhat ovall and made at one end vwith a beveled wall 59. The'housilg ll'may comprise a circular disk having a peripheral flange `60, the latter boing 'notched and reinforced .at 6l for a purpose hereinafter explained! 'The hub 62 'of an oscilla-tory lift-ing disk or member 63 is mounted to turn freely on the Spindle 1 5a and the inner ond vof ythis hub may abut against tho outorond-of the hub .55' inthe housing 54, The lifting disk 68 is provided, around the hub portonthere- 'frame ,isprovided with a curved lower portion 6-5apivotally .connected withthe disk 63 so that when the latter is turned approxi- Lmately three-quarters of a single'revolution in one direction, motion will be imparted to` the plow frame to -raisethe saine.

A ring '66 is mounted loosely `on thehiib 55 VinY the housing 54 and is providedwi-th diametrically opposite arin's 67, 6 8, having end portions 6,9, 70 which are beveled andV movable near the peripheral ilange 60 of the housingwhen said 'ring "is turn-od. The bevadapted ,to move in cam-ways 71, '72.; formed by pairs of cam-flanges 'Z3-T74 and 757-76 'eled end portions of the arins 67, Y68 are Y, l

located diametrically' opposite' eachother and may be ,castv with the disk .and peripheral angeof said housing. Y The beveled` flanges 74 and 76 may proj ect beyond one endV of the adjacent flanges .78 and 75 and at one end of the flange 76, a stop 7 7 may be located to be engaged by the part 69 of arm 67 and limit the extentr to which the ring 66 and arms 67-68 may be moved in one direction,-turning movement of said ring and arms in the other direction'being limited by engagement of said ring and its arms with the disk portion of the housing. i A rod l7 8 is pivoted to one of the arms, (preferably the `arm 68) and passes freely through a hole in the flange 6() of therhousing and a spring 7 9 encircling this rod bears at one. end against the housing flange 60 and at the other end against a collar 80 on the roch-these devices serving` as means to retain the collar 66 and the parts cooperable therewith,

inthe position to which theymay be moved.Y

The Yring 66 is made interiorly with a groove 81, in which an annular flange 82 on a ringV 83 is rotatably mounted, said ring being also made with a cut-away portion 84 to permit the assembling of the ring.

`The ring 88 isprovided with a plurality of pins 85 (three vsnch pins being shown inV the drawing), which project outwardly and enter holes 64 in lifting member or disk 68, and each of said pins is made with a beveled face 86 for a purpose hereinafter explained.

It is evident that. if the ring 66 be turned in one direction, the outer end portions of the arms 67--68 will move in the cani-ways 71-72 and so co-operate with the. camfianges-as to cause said ring to be moved also in a direction parallel with its axis "i and cause the pins 85 carried by the ring 83 to be projected through the holes `64 in lthe lifting disk 63and made to enter three of theholes 58 inthe annular flange 57 of the wheel boX 56, and thus therlifting disk 63 will be coupled to the land wheel so as to rotate therewith and cause the plow frame to be raised through the medium of the lifting arm 65.Y

A control lever 87 is pivoted by 'a pin 87aY to the vhousing 54 and passes through Athe notched portion 61 thereof. The short arm of thislever enters the housing and hasV pi-voted thereto, a gravity dog 88 having a @tongue 89 and also a tooth 90, the latter being intended to engage a rib 91 on the periphery of the ring 66. rlhe control lever is maintainedV normally in Vand returned to normal position by a spring 92 -attached to said lever and to the housing 54 and to said lever, an operating cord 93 may be attached. The lifting disk or meniber 68 is provided with aninwardly projecting lug 94 adapted to co-operate with the rib 91 on the ring 66, for a purpose f hereinafter explained. l

' W henfthe plowis in working position,

xtheparts of the clutch and lifting mecha-y nisms vwill vassume the postions shown in Vlifting devicesl from thewheel.

neeaaoa V88 to move rearwardly and, by engagement Vwith the rib 91 cause the ring to be turned and the lifting disk to be coupled with the land wheel so that the rotation ofthe latter V will cause the plow frame to 'be raised as previously explained. operation, the pivotal connection'of the lifting arm to the lifting disk will move from Y the positionshown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 4, thus moving duringV approximately three-fourths of Ya 'rotation of the lifting disk. During theraising of During the raising the plow, the crank of the axle 4 willmove I from thel position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in IFigure 4 and as the pivotal connection of the lifting arm with the lift'- ing disk app-roaches a position slightly' past Va dead center over andwithl relation to thel axis of said disk, (whereby the plow will be held in raised position) the lug 94 on land wheel and leaving the plow 'in its raised position. descend to workingposition, the operator will again move the control lever forwardly, causing the dog 88 to. engage the lug 94 on the disk and turn said disk sufciently to move the pivotal connection of the lifting arm with said disk past the dead center, when the 'plow frameV willifdescend` b'y gravity and the disk will be turned back-V wardly. Y v.

VShould one of the plow bases encounter an impassable obstruction,y the inclination ofthe operator wouldbe to operate .the clutch or coupling devices to cause the plow to bev raised. Under such conditions, the plow frame could'not be raised by power from the land wheel'because the plow could not move forwardly.A By backing the plow away from Vthe obstruction, 'the-backward turning of the land wheel will cause. the

beveled walls59 of the holes 58 in the flange* To permit the plow yto i beveled portions 86 of the pins 85 and cause the latter, by camV action, tol be forced backwardly and effect the uncouplingjofV the y The power. lift Vmechanism may 'now' be thrown into oparms, cams rigid with said support and with which the free end portions of said' arms cooperate to cause movement l of said ring in a direction parallel with itsV axis, said cams being also concentric to the axis of said ring, and engaging means connected with said ringto cooperate with the VVdriving member, and control means for said.

coupling devices.

2.1n mechanism of the character de-v scribed, the combination with a driving member anda driven member, of coupling mechanism comprising a support provided with a central fixed hnb. a ring revoluble on said hub and provided with radial arms, cams rigid with said snpport and with which the free end perf tions of said arms cooperate to cause movement of said `ring in a direction parallel with its axis, said cams being also concentric to the axis of said ring, engaging means con- Y nected with said ring to cooperate with Vthe driving member, and means wherebfgr the engaging means may be forced out of en-'l gage-ment with the driving member against resistance of the cams, when the driving member is ,rotated backwardly, and control means for said coupling devices.

3. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a support and a driven member, of a driving member havingholes, one end of each of which has a beveled wall, a plurality of pins, each having a beveled portion, a carrier for said pins, cam devices carried by said support for moving said carrier and pins wherebysaid pins may be moved through holes in the driven member and enter the holes in the ,driving member, the beveled portionv of theholes in the driving member being cooperable with the beveled portions ofsaid pins when the driving member is turned backwardly to force said pins out of engage* ment with the driving member and thus discontrol KVmeans for said cam devices.

In testimony whereof, I have signe-d this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses. i

HERMAN E. ALTGELT.-

Witnesses:

Ross B. MARBAUGH, JENNIE M. DAVIS.v

connect the driven member therefrom, and` 

